ELDERLY people will continue to face the loss of their homes and ­savings to fund their care bills even if the current system is revamped, experts said yesterday.

The warning came as the man in charge of the Government’s latest investigation into the crisis-hit care system controversially said “the population is probably quite comfortable with that”.

The extraordinary statement was made by Andrew Dilnot, chair of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support, whose report is due out next month.

Mr Dilnot was speaking at a seminar convened by over-50s campaign group Saga to examine the chaos surrounding a system that sees tens of thousands of vulnerable pensioners, who have struggled to save or pay off a mortgage all their lives, left facing massive bills for care.

Participants included care home bosses, medics, insurance groups, politicians, academics and economists, yet not one of the 25 experts said they could see how to pay for care without owners risking their homes.

A £50,000 cap on contributions to care home bills is expected in Mr Dilnot’s report but property professionals warned of a new North-South divide as owners of more expensive homes in the South sacrifice a lower percentage of the value of their home.

The population is probably quite comfortable with that

Andrew Dilnot

David Newnes, boss of internet estate agency YourMove, said: “A fixed price cap for using property equity to pay for care is far too simplistic as property values vary so much by location and size.

“It might be a very large part of a home’s value in ­Nottingham but a tiny ­fraction in Notting Hill.”

Some finance experts point out the £50,000 cap may apply just to nursing or personal care needs – accommodation costs could add significantly to the bill. The average weekly cost of a residential care home is between £600 and £700.

Julia Manning, chief executive of think-tank 2020 Health, said: “It could be that everyone is offered an assurance of basic care and a limit on the amount charged for that.”

Pensions expert Dr Ros Altmann, of Saga, said: “Whether there will be ‘hotel’ fees on top will only be found out when the final report is released.”

Mr Dilnot said: “What we have at the moment is a nightmare. There must be more resources – both public and private. There are catastrophic risks which people are not covered for. Paying for care is so expensive that the state can’t do it and the ­private sector won’t do it.

“There must be a partnership between individuals and the state. There has to be an acceptance that people will have to meet some of the costs but governments also have to accept that the state must be ready to protect people from catastrophic losses.

“The problem of paying for long-term care for the elderly must involve them being willing to use part of the value of their homes. But the population is probably quite comfortable with that.”

The social care system is already under pressure as councils cut costs but will be put under growing strain as life expectancy rises and dementia rates increase.

Labour repeatedly put off a decision on care, leaving a means-tested system so that anyone with more than £23,250 has to fend for themselves.